


Take One Moment Into Your Hands

by ishie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, E for eventual, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24883255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishie/pseuds/ishie
Summary: “Hey, kid.”Ben sighed. Funny how that voice was always the same, no matter how long it had been since he last heard it.Getting to his feet, he smoothed down his coat and shook back his hair. With a phone in one hand and coffee in the other, it was easy enough to avoid Han’s awkwardly outstretched hand.“You’ve got me for one hour,” Ben said. “Not a second longer.”Ben reluctantly agrees to help Han fulfill a promise to Chewie, but he never expected he'd have to go quite this far.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15
Collections: Reylo Theme Event Summer





	Take One Moment Into Your Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Extremely loosely based on (more inspired by?) the 2017 movie "Kodachrome" for The Writing Den's summer theme event: Movie/TV AU! It's fully outlined with several chapters already drafted. I'm planning to post at least once a week until it's done but may be slightly delayed while finishing up an antho story.
> 
> I haven't finished a full story in a long time because depression/anxiety/The World so I'm really excited to share this one! Hope you're all staying as safe as possible <3
> 
> Huge thanks as always to my beta and cheerleader, inkdot ♥ Title is from Springsteen's "The Promised Land"

As Ben waited for the courtroom behind him to open, he stared out at the grey Chandrilan day and tried to remember the first time he’d done this. Was it fifth grade, when Leia invited his whole class for a personal tour but never made it out of her office to meet them? Or much earlier, short legs dangling from a too-tall bench while he waited for someone to wrap up their conversation and shuttle him home again? Lando, or Winter, or even—

“Hey, kid.”

Ben sighed. Funny how that voice was always the same, no matter how long it had been since he last heard it.

Getting to his feet, he smoothed down his coat and shook back his hair. With a phone in one hand and coffee in the other, it was easy enough to avoid Han’s awkwardly outstretched hand.

“You’ve got me for one hour,” Ben said. “Not a second longer.”

A ghost of a smirk flashed across Han’s face. The unspoken _that’s what she said_ echoed between them.

“We’re first on the docket, so this should be in and out.” _Shit_. Ben pretended not to see the smirk return, twice as big. Luckily he had decades of practice, even if he was currently a little rusty. “Your probation officer already filed the paperwork and an affidavit. Unless you left something out when we spoke, granting your petition should be the easiest judgment Rieekan hands down today.”

“He’s not a bad guy, ol’ Carlist.”

“Don’t—” Ben gritted out before he managed to catch himself. So maybe he was more than a little rusty. He tried again. “Please refrain from addressing the judge directly.”

Han rolled his eyes. “What if he asks me a question? I’ve known him almost forty years! And I can’t exactly ignore the guy who’s gonna tell me whether I can leave the state or not.”

“He’s not going to ask you any questions.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do, Dad!” He ignored the splash of warm coffee that landed on his wrist. Pulling himself up to his full height, a good three inches or more over Han— _When the hell did that happen?_ Ben shook off the thought. “It’s my job to know what to expect before we even land on the calendar, and I’m fucking _great_ at it.”

Han’s eyes widened, his hands going up into that age-old and infuriating gesture that meant he wanted Ben to lower his voice so he wouldn’t be embarrassed by his too-loud, too-emotional son. “All right, okay....”

Ben had barely finished counting to ten when the bailiff opened the double doors and gestured them inside. 

“You can head on in, Mr Solo,” she told Ben. “Mothma’ll be here in a minute or two and the judge is on time for once.”

“Thanks.” On a normal morning he would have lingered a moment, used her name, maybe even asked about her family. He wasn’t totally devoid of charm when he needed to be. But his irritation won the day and after a quick nod he made his way toward the counsel’s table.

Han, of course, lingered far longer than a moment. The bailiff’s bright laugh rang out over his rumble through the mostly empty room, drawing a smile even from Mon Mothma, who quickly unpacked her own case at the prosecution’s table.

“He’s still got it,” she said, brushing her short hair behind her ears.

Ben shot her a tight smile, muttering to himself, “He’s got something, all right.” He busied himself with emails until the judge swept in, quickly calling the now-crowded room to order. 

“Who’s on first?” Rieekan asked. He unfolded a pair of glasses, slipped them on, then squinted at the laptop screen in front of him.

“Probation travel request,” his clerk, Ciena Ree, answered. “Han Solo.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Rieekan said with a laugh. “Getting restless, eh?”

Han turned to Ben and cocked his head at the bench as if asking permission.

“For fuck’s sake,” Ben hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Just a small trip,” Han offered. “You remember Chewie? He’s been out in Dantooine the last couple of years. Me and him have always traded off when we get out and now it’s my turn to do the pick up. There and back in a week, tops. We’re hoping to head out in the morning.”

“You can’t fly there? Much faster, I hear. Especially with you in the cockpit.”

To anybody else, the brief pause before Han deflected with a joke would hardly be noticeable but it made the hair on the back of Ben’s neck stand up. Unsettled, he brushed a finger against his phone screen—a nervous habit that doubled as a reminder to Han that his time was literally money.

“Anyway,” Han said, getting the hint. “Just gonna make a little road trip of it. Been a while for Chewie, and all.”

“And you,” Mothma reminded him. 

“Yeah, and me. Farthest I get these days is the Tip-Yip up the block.”

“Nothing like the old days,” Rieekan joked, drawing another smile from Mothma and a barked laugh from Han. The good cheer practically oozed off of all three of them. “Ben, nice to see you. I didn’t think you came down here for anything less than a dozen felonies these days.”

“Good to see you too, Your Honor. It’s been a while.” He took a chance that the pleasantries had been exhausted and jumped right in. “You should have a copy of Officer Milon’s affidavit and the last eighteen months of MSRs, showing that my client is in good standing and eligible for a one-week travel pass. He agrees to abide by the terms of his probation while traveling, up to and including abstaining from illicit substances regardless of state.”

“Yes, everything’s in order as far as I can tell. There’s nothing in the sentencing agreement about contact with other felons?”

“None,” Mothma confirmed. “Officer Milon wouldn’t have authorized the request if it were, given the nature of the proposed trip.”

“Well, we all know better than to require it of Han Solo in the first place, eh?” 

Ben’s teeth ground together while Han spread his hands in his classic “who, me?” gesture, complete with the idiotic hangdog expression.

Rieekan shook his head but was still smiling. “No red flags for me. You good, Mothma?”

“No objections here.” She turned to Han and said, “Say hello to Chewie for me? I haven’t seen him since, what was it? The Yavin case?”

“It was just before Kashyyyk.”

She recoiled slightly. Maybe only enough to be noticed by someone who’d known her all his life, like Ben. “In that case, maybe you should tell him I’m sorry, instead.”

Han nodded, still radiating an air of friendliness, but his hands were in fists behind his back.

Rieekan finished whatever he was doing with his laptop and knocked the mouse like a gavel. “There we go. Petition granted,” he said, pushing his glasses down a bit to peer over them. “But I’m imposing one condition. I know you’re good for the return trip, Solo, but even for you I think a week’s a bit tight. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Ord Mantell.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’ll grant the pass for ten days to give you plenty of time to get Chewie settled before you check in with your probation officer. But, here to Dantooine’s a rough road and none of us are as young as we were. I’d feel a lot better about you leaving the state if you have someone to keep an eye on you.”

Han bristled and tried to interrupt. “Now, wait a minute. I’ve already got a—”

But Rieekan kept going. “Luckily we’ve got someone right here I know is up to the job.” He waved a hand between Ben and Han, who barked out another laugh and said, “Oh, boy.”

 _More like, ‘oh, fuck.’_ Ben’s stomach flopped over on itself as the floor dropped away, leaving him floating behind the counsel’s table. “Your Honor, I—”

“Ben Solo, you’ll accompany your client to Dantooine and back. You’ll need to check with Officer Milon this afternoon to see if they need any reports from you on the road. Ciena here will email you the full text of the order so you can submit it to your firm to explain your absence.”

Dimly, Ben could hear Rieekan and Ciena discussing the particulars for the paperwork. He confirmed his email address and answered several questions from long habit more than anything else, replying in the right spots while his brain whirred to a halt. There was no reason for this. None at all! Any second now he’d marshal the argument he needed to get Rieekan to admit to his ill-advised joke and reverse the asinine stipulation.

Han, and Ben, on the road for a week? In the same car? They could barely stand to be in the same room for 45 minutes, as evidenced by the explosive meeting the week before that found Han abandoning his brittle air of bonhomie and storming out of Ben’s office. After blackmailing him into agreeing to stand as counsel for this _completely standard_ hearing.

A hand squeezing Ben’s shoulder brought him back to earth. His empty coffee cup was crumpled in his hand, the lid popped halfway off. 

“All right, kid?” Even at Han’s approximation of a whisper, the question was too loud. Ben flinched, then cursed himself for it. 

He didn’t answer. 

“Judge Rieekan,” he tried instead, forcing words out of his mouth without even a hint of a whine. He wouldn’t regress that far. Not in public. “I have a full caseload right now and can’t really afford—”

“Is that so?” Rieekan pinned him with a hard look that Ben had a difficult time meeting. “I think you’d be surprised to learn what you can’t afford, Mr Solo.”

When the judge turned to ask Ciena for the next case, Ben pushed to his feet and past Han, who tried to catch his arm. 

“I didn’t know he was going to do that,” Han said. “I swear. And, look, like I said, this is the last time I’ll ask you for a favor. I pro—”

Ben’s resentment swelled so high, it spilled right over every wall he’d erected against it. Nearly choking on it, he couldn’t stop himself from spitting, “Don’t you _dare_ say you promise!”

The bailiff moved out of his way as he stormed toward the doors, one hand drifting closer to the stun gun on her belt. Ben forced himself to slow, take a deep breath, and give her his best approximation of an unthreatening smile. No sense in burning every last bridge behind him. 

Ten days. _Or less,_ he swore to himself. And then he could put this behind him—all of it—and get on with his life.

“Have a good trip, boys!” Rieekan called after them.

**Author's Note:**

> Canon context stuff!  
>    
> [Winter](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Winter_Celchu)
> 
> [Carlist Rieekan](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Carlist_Rieekan/)
> 
> [Mon Mothma](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mon_Mothma/)
> 
> [Ciena Ree](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ciena_Ree)
> 
> [Anandra Milon](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Anandra_Milon)
> 
> The bailiff isn't named but in my heart she is [Kaiya Adrimetrum](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kaiya_Adrimetrum), who in this universe finally has a sense of humor. (Also she was drawn remarkably like Carrie Fisher looked in the 90s so I had to have Han flirt with her a little.)
> 
> Yip-Tip is Ewokese for an Endorian chicken. In the original version of this story, Chandrila was Chicago, Dantooine was Denver, and this was my nod to the now defunct mostly midwestern convenience store chain, White Hen. *pours out a 40 I bought there in college*
> 
> The courtroom stuff is based VERY loosely on Illinois probation rules and procedures, which is only as accurate as the information that's searchable with public access. There will be a little more law enforcement/justice system/prison-related content to this story but it bears almost no resemblance to the current American justice system beyond what you've already read. Most of it, frankly, is drawn from the rudimentary [prison abolition education](https://electricliterature.com/a-reading-list-for-understanding-the-prison-industrial-complex/) I've had in the past few years. Many apologies for anything I fuck up in the telling.
> 
> I'm not on Twitter for fan stuff but I'd love to hear from you here or [on Tumblr](https://thirddeadlysin.tumblr.com/)!


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